250,000 Disabled Pensioners to get a 33% increase in Council Tax?

If has been rumoured that the Government may remove single occupancy council tax discount in the 30th October budget;

Under the present laws some 250,000 (i) people living at home with Dementia or other forms of Severe Mental Impairment will lose the 25% discount and those living alone with dementia may have their full council tax reinstated.

The law states that people with SMI may be "disregarded" for the purpose of assessing Council Tax. (ii)

A household with two people, one of which has Dementia are entitled to claim that the person with SMI is "disregarded", they then become a single occupancy household, which if the proposal goes ahead they will lose the 25% discount. People with SMI living alone when disregarded are exempted and pay no Council Tax (iii)

With over 90% of people living with dementia being over pensionable age (iv) this, on top of the removal of the winter fuel allowance, will hit pensioners yet again.

My very sincerest regards

Derek (Brown)

42 Mowbray Road

Northallerton

North Yorkshire

DL6 1QU

01609780358

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Notes:-

My wife, Margaret was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in early 2018, she is now in a downstairs hospital bed and confined to a wheelchair

I have been campaigning for some time to start Council Tax SMI Disregards from the date of GP certification.

In December 2020 I took our local Council to the High Court on this issue and in preparation I conducted a Freedom of Information request which I repeated in January 2023.

References:-

(i) According to the Freedom of Information request, as at 1 January 2023, in England there were a total of 201,601 people with SMI receiving Discounts and Exemptions, In Wales 12,641. In Scotland 36,101, and in Northern Ireland 191, totalling 250,534 (100% councils responding). [ A speadsheet of all FOI responses available on request ]

(ii) Local Government Finance Act 1992, Schedule 1, Section 2(1) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/14/schedule/1

(iii) GOV.UK , How Council Tax works, Discounts for severely mentally impaired people https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/discounts-for-disabled-people

(iv) According to the Alzheimer's Society, 7.8% of people with dementia are under 65. i.e 92% are over 65 https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/types-dementia/young-onset-dementia